Tamale Hosts World Shea Expo 2025, Spotlighting Women and Youth in Shea Value Chain
Tamale has been at the heart of global attention over the past three days as it hosts the World Shea Expo 2025, which concludes today, 4 September.
Under the theme “Empowering Women and Youth-Led SMEs in the Shea Value Chain: The Role of Government and Financial Institutions,” the Expo has drawn more than 8,000 participants, including shea producers, international buyers, investors, development partners, NGOs, and high-level policymakers.
Since 2 September, Tamale has transformed into a hub for trade discussions, innovation showcases, networking opportunities, and knowledge exchange on the future of shea. The Expo has gone beyond a conventional trade fair to bring together grassroots producers, cooperatives, policymakers, and private investors in one space, creating an unprecedented platform for collaboration.
For decades, women have been the backbone of Ghana’s shea industry—gathering nuts, processing butter, and sustaining households—while a new wave of youth-led SMEs has been bringing innovation, technology, and entrepreneurial drive into the value chain. The Expo has shone a spotlight on these grassroots actors whose labour and creativity sustain Ghana’s multi-billion-dollar shea industry and anchor local economic growth.
Discussions and exhibitions over the last three days have highlighted success stories of women-led cooperatives, digital tools for shea processing and marketing, and new financing models aimed at empowering young entrepreneurs. These sessions have demonstrated how inclusive approaches can unlock productivity, improve quality standards, and expand market access for rural producers.
The World Shea Expo 2025 has also served as a vital platform for aligning policies, forging partnerships, and strengthening market linkages. Government agencies, financial institutions, NGOs, civil society organisations, and private investors have used the event to accelerate conversations on access to finance, mechanisation, and value addition within the shea sector.
By placing women and youth-led SMEs at the centre of the theme, the Expo has encouraged a new focus on inclusive growth and sustainable practices. Exhibitors and participants have been able to connect directly with buyers, financiers, and technical support organisations, creating opportunities that extend beyond the three-day event.
As the Expo concludes, the momentum it has generated offers a renewed call for collaboration. The conversations, partnerships, and innovations showcased in Tamale can become stepping stones toward a stronger, more competitive, and more inclusive shea industry.
Northern Ghana holds the key to unlocking the full potential of the shea value chain, but this requires sustained action across stakeholders. With government providing policy support, financial institutions improving access to credit, and NGOs and civil society ensuring community inclusion, the vision of empowering women and youth-led SMEs is within reach.
The World Shea Expo 2025 has not only celebrated the progress of Ghana’s shea sector but also underscored the work ahead. It stands as a powerful reminder that the shea industry is more than an economic activity; it is a heritage, a source of livelihoods, and a driver of national development.